Cola firm takes lead in 'greening' the bottling industry

MANILA, Philippines - Etched in the ethos of Asiawide Refreshments Corp. (ARC) is environmental sustainability. As the licensed manufacturer and distributor of RC Cola in the Philippines, ARC understands the environment impact of soft drink production- affecting the water and increasing carbon emission. Thus, from Day 1, ARC has pushed its efforts to respond to the challenges of global sustainability, laying out a foundation grounded in environmental and ethical awareness. Its efforts have been rewarded and today, ARC is one of the leading champions in green living.

For its waste water treatment facility, ARC has been a three-time recipient of the Blue Award from LLDA, a quasi-government agency that initiated an environmental rating system to industries and commercial establishments around the Laguna de Bay region. Careful measures and benchmarking its initiatives, the cola firm has raised the bar each year. For two consecutive years, LLDA has elevated ARC’s Blue Award—which affirms that the company’s effluents are consistently within standards—to the Green Award. 

“We cannot deliver quality without being compliant,” says Butch Aves, Vice President for Manufacturing and Technical Services for ARC. “It is essential to achieve that. One of the first considerations when we were building the plant (in Antipolo) was for it to comply with environmental standards.” For Aves, who personally took charge of building the Antipolo plant, becoming sensitized to our fragile planet would not only minimize the environment impact with respect to waste management and energy awareness but also help engrain a health and safety culture among its employees.

“It is easier for us to work on environmental sustainability because it has been entrenched since our inception. We designed it that way. So from the very start, our employees were equipped with the essentials. They know that helping the environment will not only help them but their children’s future. In a way, it has become organic,” he adds. The concept works well because every ARC employee has been oriented about it as soon as they step into the company. Compliance with environmental standards, Aves says, is not limited to LLDA alone. The company also has to meet the environmental terms of the local government and DENR, among others.

Aves takes pride in ARC’s waste water treatment facility. In its plant, the waste water is so clean that the caretakers have a fish pond beside it. With a stringent effluent discharge limits, tilapia fish have taken shelter in it, proving that waste water quality could not only be improved but be part of enhancing aquatic conditions along tributaries within the Laguna de Bay area.

For Aves, the solution includes creating a well-oiled, well-efficient plant that complies with government environmental standards. Its production facility is constructed in a way that helps increase the efficient use of all resources, including waste reduction, energy consumption and air emission.

Lowering carbon emission is also part of ARC’s concept of sustainability which is why the company has ensured that its air standard is at par or even beyond the benchmark.

The company is continuously in search of green initiatives that will help reduce its carbon footprint and minimize the impact on the environment. “We will continue to work efficiently and influence green building practices. The recognition that we receive for our efforts have inspired all of us at ARC to see the difference on how sustainability can help make a big difference to our environment for our future generation,” Aves says.